An evaluation of a new offshore breakwater at Sattahip Port, Thailand

Abstract

Careful planning for a port development is vital. Offshore breakwater is known to reduce wave height approaching a port, but it is not always the case. Different ports have different characteristics. This article chose to analyse Sattahip Port. Necessary information, such as annual wave climate, long-term tidal records, and a bathymetric map were collected and synthesized. Numerical simulations were carried out by the MIKE21 PMS software package. The simulation results showed that the existing breakwater at the port could only protect some parts of it. If the whole area of the port were to be sheltered, a new offshore breakwater would have to be installed at a certain location. The existing breakwater could not be extended because it would interfere with the existing navigational channel. A new breakwater at the nearest island was another option, but it was proven by the simulation results that the new breakwater could not reduce the wave height as planned. If the wave simulation had not been undertaken, decision makers might have proceeded in the wrong direction, and millions of dollars would have been wasted.